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To what extent is Situation Ethics the best approach to moral issues (40 marks) Grade A
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To what extent is Situation Ethics the best approach to moral issues? [40]Situation ethics was first founded in the 1960’s by Joseph Fletcher, in a period
of time where society was becoming more secular and an increasing number of
people were turning away from the legalistic values at the time. Fletcher took
inspiration from the words and actions of Jesus in the new testament and
devised an ethical theory with one fundamental principle, love. His theory of
situation ethics is situationist, a medium between legalism and antinomianism.
It focuses on the autonomous individual thinker deciding the right thing to do
in a situation using the absolute principle of love. For situation ethicists, using
the free thinking and agape love encouraged by situation ethics to approach
moral issues is practical as it is easy to understand and empowers us to use our
autonomy. However it can be argued that situation ethics has no clear and
absolute boundaries meaning it is open to different interpretations and easy to
manipulate in order to justify morally questionable actions. Is an ethical theory
that follows one principle a practical theory applicable to every situation and is
it the best approach to the moral dilemmas we face today?
Situation ethics offers a less rigid approach to issues such as pre-marital sex,
homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia where traditional Christian ethics
conflict with contemporary ideas of what is right and wrong. It can be seen by
many as the best approach to moral issues as it allows you to act as your own
moral agent in difficult situations, setting aside the legalistic values of other
ethical theories such as natural law. It is person-centered and focuses on
individual circumstance. Situation ethics, unlike natural law can be applied in
any context regardless of time, meaning it is the ideal approach to modern day
moral dilemmas which arise long after natural law was devised such as
abortion and euthanasia. Following the principle of love, situation ethics could
justify a woman having an abortion if by going through with the pregnancy it
would pose a risk to both her life and that of the unborn child, with the best
case scenario being a termination of the pregnancy in order for the woman to
survive. Another example where situation ethics would justify abortion is in a
case where a young girl has become pregnant due to being raped and so
chooses to go through with an abortion as she feels unfit to be a mother and
giving birth to child of her rapist she would undergo trauma, which would be
detrimental to her mental wellbeing. In both of these cases, situation ethics
allows the individual to look at the consequences of each course of action in
order to assess what the most loving thing to do is. It takes into account the
complexity of human emotions and allows you to make personal choices about
, what is right for you. This is a strong argum ent as it gives people the freedom
to make choices through love, rather than being bound by a set of rules. It also
shows the effectiveness of situation ethics when applied to the modern world.
However, literalists and Catholics who are completely against natural law will
argue that situation ethics is not a satisfactory approach to moral issues as
when referencing the bible, its states that ‘thou shall not kill’, and in cases of
abortion or euthanasia, Fletcher’s ethical theory justifies acts of murder if they
are seen as the most loving thing to do. Due to this, situation ethics actively
goes against the bible and Christian ethical theories such as natural law. In
cases where situation ethics would support actions such as stealing in order to
save a human life when a person is dying of starvation, Catholics would go
against this by stating that actions such as these go against one of the five
primary precepts of Natural law, such as maintaining an ordered society. Not
only does situation ethics oppose church teaching regarding certain moral
issues but it can be argued that it gives no clear guidance as to what is right
and what is wrong, meaning those who are religious can’t have full confidence
that their actions are approved by God when following Fletcher’s ethical
theory. Due to the ambiguous nature of situation ethics, it would leave
christians ensure as to whether they have made the right decision when using
the theory as an approach to moral issues and for this reason it may not be
suitable for all religious people to practice situation ethics in their day to day
lives. This is a satisfactory argument however it has been counterargued by
some other catholics who state that despite its flaws situation ethics is a better
approach, it reconciles Christian ethics with contemporary morality and is still
rooted in scripture, as implied by Fletcher who took inspiration from Jesus’
own teachings.
Another reason why situation ethics can be seen as the best approach to moral
issues is due to the fact that the absolute principle at the core of situation
ethics, love, is a positive value that is understood and accepted universally. As
Joseph Fletcher stated, ‘love is the only universal’. This means any person is
able to practice situation ethics regardless of their religion owing to the fact
that we are all able to understand the concept of love and inherently feel
inclined to do the most compassionate thing. The theory is inclusive as the
principle of love is shared by both theists and atheists. It is at the heart of
every moral system used around the world and it can be argued that because it
is such a simple concept to grasp, situation ethics would benefit the wider
society if we taught younger generations to make the right moral decisions
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